Profile of endometriosis in the aging female rhesus monkey.
BACKGROUND
A retrospective analysis was conducted on necropsy records from a large rhesus monkey colony to evaluate the age-related prevalence of endometriosis.


METHODS
A total of 314 records collected over a 15-year period were analyzed, yielding 66 monkeys with histologically verified endometriosis and 248 control subjects.


RESULTS
The analyses demonstrated that the incidence of endometriosis increases progressively across the life span, ultimately impacting 21-45% of aged monkeys over 20 years of age.


CONCLUSIONS
Because mild disease is often not diagnosed premortem, the endocrine and immune sequelae of endometriosis may be a potential confound in even nonreproductive research with aging primates. Prior research-related events influence the occurrence and severity of endometriosis in these long-lived animals, and specifically could have contributed to the high prevalence of endometriosis in this particular monkey colony.
Coe
C L
CL
Harlow Center for Biological Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53715, USA. ccoe@facstaff.wisc.edu
Lemieux
A M
AM
Rier
S E
SE
Uno
H
H
Zimbric
M L
ML
D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D015994:Incidence; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014599:Uterus / Q000601:surgery
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D004958:Estradiol